St. Xavier's College B.Com Review By Sharad Karnani

St Xaviers Kolkata is a great college but no rookies please as this college is just for the toppers. St Xavier's College Kolkata Admission is on merit basis and the cut-off for B. Com (Hons) is nearly 95 percent and therefore it has more outsiders than the locals. The college has been backed by many industrialists as they have been alumni of this college. A top pedigree and not just businessmen but actors, politicians, sportspersons have all been alumni of this college. The college was started by Britishers and the legacy is still continued as it is arguably one of the best colleges in Kolkata. It is rather safe to say that one will only find nerds here as the college has rules even harsh than the school. Attendance, mock tests, and even parents are called if the complaints against one start looming large. Education is the stress point but it doesn’t mean the rest other things have taken the back seat as they are also an equally prized possession of the college. Being a Xaverian is a pride in itself as I will carry this badge for the rest of my life.

B.Com (Hons) is much advanced than a normal B.Com as it has a semester system and the subjects are lengthy as well. There were quite a few optional subjects not related to the course but we had to choose some of them as well. The attendance required was 75% and above. We were initially fined for less attendance and the breach of that in back-to-back semesters resulted in even higher consequences. Studies were the utmost part and the classes were worthy enough to not be missed. My graduation classes helped in my further studies as well and therefore the contribution of St. Xavier’s in my academic career was massive.

All the faculty members were Ph.D. holders and their teaching method didn’t follow the old suite but they believed in advanced studies. Thus the practical application of every economic formula was taught with immense care and made sure that none of the students has any basic doubts left. They were strict but cooperative as many students were pursuing CA along and the faculty also helped those students out with their questions from the CA syllabus.

Placement for UG courses is not so great anywhere. A commercial graduate in a way is not capable of handling anything other than accounting and therefore just a few companies joined hands in the placement drive and only 20-25% of students finally had a campus placement. An average job in the name of the college can’t be ruled out in Kolkata but most of the students did go for higher studies including me.

The college has constructed a boys and girls hostel but outside the campus. The boy’s hostel is at walking distance while the girl’s hostel is at a distant location but the college has arranged buses for the students coming from the hostel. The hostel seats are few but the students applying are more and therefore the college also puts a hostel merit list as well. The students who fail to get a seat in the hostel have a lot of other options near the college. There are various private boys hostel in Kolkata and PG at quite a cheap price is easily available.

St. Xavier’s campus also has a school building inside the campus and there are 2 buildings of the college. One is dedicated to Commerce which is on the left side of the main gate. The campus is small but beautiful and easily accessible as all the facilities are right there in front of you. The library is there in both the college buildings. An entire building is dedicated to recreational activities like indoor sports, gymnasium, and AV hall. The college auditorium is huge as it accommodates 800 students at once and is used during guest lectures and college fests. Inside the campus, there is a small Church (Chapel). There are common rooms for boys and girls. The college’s center of attraction in the park which is at the center of the college. In terms of sports, there’s only a basketball court. There are multiple canteens and are mostly occupied even though the snacks they serve are pathetic.

The academic part is definitely the first thing associated with the college but other than that there are numerous activities that kept us occupied for a large part of our college life. There are various societies in the college some are specific to the department while some were common. Like the arts, clubs had students from all stream and for four to five months the practice went on as Xavier has the knack of producing one of the best play at the university level. The college location is one of the best in the city and there are a lot of places nearby. As soon as we got time we enjoyed our college life visiting the bowling alleys and enjoying roadside food of Kolkata. The annual fest Xavotsav is one of the most decorated events of the college and is followed by all the media houses. Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and the likes of Sanjiv Goenka has been the guest of honours at the fests. The college has been kind to the ones who have taken the college seriously otherwise there were many who were rusticated from the college as well.